Well, the humans said that my writing was not done very well, so now I have to let them write my columns again. I just don’t get it. I mean, it can’t be that hard; I just pressed those little squares on their keyboards, just like they do. I just don’t know what was so bad about my column last week. (I guess they just weren’t “feline” right about it.)
During the July Fourth weekend, I spent a lot of time thinking on a phrase that has become synonymous with the holiday-“The Land of the Free.”
So far, 2020 has felt like the end times. Things we never thought possible have come into play, and understandably, many people are having trouble coping. From a pandemic, to the death of Charlie Daniels, to murder hornets, to everything else happening (y’all, I can’t even list them all), the world has been a crazy place. I want to encourage you to let that go.
We were so pleased to see extensive coverage of June 19th’s ‘’Freedom Day March” and rally featured in the June 25th paper. As we in Pittsburg and Camp County acknowledge that there is still much to be done to achieve racial justice in our community, The Pittsburg Gazette is providing a forum for these sentiments. In the 1870’s Baha’u’llah, the Founder of the Baha’i Faith wrote that “Newspapers are indeed the mirror of the world; they display the doings and actions of the various nations; they both illustrate and cause them to be heard. Newspapers ... are a wonderful phenomenon and a great matter.” We have noticed that in recent months, multiple community activities that were not covered in the past until after the event had happened, or sometimes not at all, have now been publicized in the paper, providing citizens with an opportunity to participate more fully in the affairs of the community. As Baha’is committed to working for racial justice, the opportunity to participate in our community’s events of June 19th was facilitated by knowing in advance that they would occur. Recently, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States wrote that “To create a just society begins with recognition of the fundamental truth that humanity is one. But it is not enough simply to believe this in our heart. It creates the moral imperative to act. .. And it requires the participation of Americans of every race and background, for it is only through such inclusive participation that new moral and social directions can emerge.” One picture that emerged from the June 19th events in Pittsburg was the “participation of Americans of every race and background.” Look at the pictures and one will see that this was not just a “Black” event. It was an “inclusive” event. We pray that this is the beginning of further actions toward justice and inclusion in our community.
Summer Reading is in full swing at the Pittsburg Library! We have almost 100 patrons signed up for the Summer Reading Program. It’s not too late to sign up, the program ends July 31st. We are still offering curbside services to our patrons who prefer to stay in their car. Please call or email us for more information.
